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Cooper Oullette, age 19, was arrested in connection to the Hartford County incident, which occurred over a year before in the town of Burlington.
At around 1:30 a.m. on May 21, 2023, the family of 17-year-old Sophie Ringquist brought her to Bristol Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Earlier that evening, she had fallen out of the front passenger seat of a moving Chevy pickup truck on Fieldview Drive in Burlington. Police said Oullette, who is from the Litchfield County town of Harwinton, was the driver at the time of the incident and the girl’s boyfriend.
During the investigation, Connecticut Police State said that the circumstances surrounding Ringquist’s death met the criteria of a domestic violence crime.
The Western District Major Crime Squad assumed the death investigation and an arrest warrant for Oullette was issued on Thursday, July 11.
He turned himself in the next day, where he was arrested and charged with:
- Manslaughter, first degree; and
- Delivery of alcohol to a minor.
Oullette was released on a $50,000 bond and was scheduled to appear at New Britain Superior Court on Monday, July 15.
Additional details about the events were not released.
In her obituary, Ringquist was remembered as “a loving, hardworking, joyous, goofy, passionate, fierce, and compassionate young woman with a talent for putting into her writing what we all find so difficult to say aloud.”
“Her hugs were genuine and warm, and when she told you she loved you, you felt it…Please hug the ones you love a little tighter today.”
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